Have hogs extended their range?

[Waterengineer]

I hail from the Rocky Mountain West so I haven't been around hogs too much. I find myself in FL the last two years or so for work so I have learned and am continuing to learn about hogs.

From what I have read it seems hogs have been extending their range from what I recall reading thirty years ago.

Question: for you hog huntin' ol' timers does it seem hogs have been extending their range during the last 20-30 years into counties (areas) where they historically haven't been and extending their range more to the north?

Thanks,

Craig

[hogdogs]

Yes they most certainly are in a larger area but it is not proven to me that they have expanded their range so much as escaped from farms and hunt clubs in those regions...
I have been approached by a few folks from the midwest to illegally (for me to sell out of state or them to buy and release) sell them hogs at extremely attractive prices for them to "stock" hunting leases... In some places a wild feral hog can be inoculated and run thru livestock auctions, the unsuspecting buyer has no idea that they bought a hog that is going to be MUCH tougher to restrain...
The pure black ones we have along the east coast of Florida can be traced back (to some degree) to Ponce de Leon and his search for the fountain of youth. the Russian (european) variant escaped back when the rich folks first thought they could have a "hunt club" with imported fenced game animals...
Then we have the typical farm breeds that escaped from modern farms. Hampshire is where we get the white shouldered ones. The yorkshire gives us alot of the white or pink color and the duroc is our red color...
Back in the early 80's the pork market collapsed to the point I seen hogs at auction bring either .08 or .18 (I can't remember exactly as I was a young kid) cents per pound and farmers couldn't afford to repair fences at that price and some may have just opened the barn door to avoid further losses...
Many variables in play... not the least of which is the hardiness of a hog!
Brent

[thallub]

Here in OK, hogs continue to expand their range at a fast pace. When we bought our place in Garvin county, OK in 2000 there were few, if any, wild hogs in the county. Now we have a hog problem.

Many of the wild hogs in western OK are the offspring of German boars that were turned loose here about 15 years ago.

[Art Eatman]

They've gotten into the Davis Mountains of west Texas, where the terrain and vegetation are much like the Rockies. Folks are fighting to keep the (bleep) things out of Big Bend National Park.

[thallub]

Folks are fighting to keep the (bleep) things out of Big Bend National Park.

They really had better get at it. If they get into the park with its no hunting rules the place will be over-run in short time.

[Double Naught Spy]

Yes, they are now found over greater areas and are found in greater numbers. There is little that is keeping the hog population in check.

[garryc]

This is the current recognized distribution in Ohio, what do you think the future holds for this state?

http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/Home/hunt...7/Default.aspx

[Kreyzhorse]

From what I have read it seems hogs have been extending their range from what I recall reading thirty years ago.

They are starting to make their way into Kentucky as well. I read an article last year and it stated that they expect hogs to be in all 48 states within the next 10 years or so.

[fisherman66]

HD, thanks for the history lesson. I would have guessed the same thing (released/escaped domesticated and canned feral pigs account for much of the extended pig land.)

The info on the coloring/markings of feral pigs is new info for me. Do you know which strain tends to be the hardiest? I'd guess the blacks and reds from surveying the local population here. We see tans occasionally, but never a mature one with any white.

[hogdogs]

As far as hardiness, I haven't been able to conclude anything except I see far fewer white/pink yorkshire looking pigs but I think that is due to 2 factors, one just less of them being farmed where I hunt and the main factor being cross breeding...
One thing I have been able to notice is that in one area of a few dozen square miles, the pure black hogs tend to grow much LESS tusk. Usually a feral hog of 200+ pounds will have more than 2 inches of bottom tusk length with a diameter of 3/4 inch or so at the base but in this one area I notice these black ones will have a very thin VERY SHARP 3/4 inch long tusk at 200+ pounds... I have knowledge of a tooth only found in hybrid (true wild hog to a domestic breed) and I am yet to catch a hog without it. I think, IMHO only, the hardiest strains are the ones that produce the striped piglets as that is a wild pig trait for camo... see the second pic on this site...
http://www.coestatepark.com/wild_pig.htm
But none of my learning is official and I am but one redneck set of eyes...
Brent

[fisherman66]

I'll take the redneck's perspective over the ivory tower's any day and every day. Boots on the ground and all that.

I have a hard time not seeing ham when I look at pictures. When I look at the "camo'ed" piglets I see a rotisserie.

The author in the link has an interesting take on the pig "problem" and how the pigs replace an ecological benefit that supplants the behavior of the now extinct Cal Grizzly. I'm not sure I buy that argument, but interesting nonetheless. That argument wouldn't hold water in many parts of the country.

Thanks Brent.

[Waterengineer]

OK, everyone, thanks. That is what I thought - hogs can be found over a larger geographic region that when I was a kid. TFL community comes through again.

Thanks,

Craig